


a trace of empathy

by Gildedstorm



Series: make a fury of me [2]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Gen, jedi probably don't have this problem, tfw half your crew is too bloodthirsty to come along on vision quests
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-09 06:38:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10406166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gildedstorm/pseuds/Gildedstorm
Summary: A vision quest requires good faith, and good company - Rkorya unexpectedly provides one, Vette, the other.





	

**Author's Note:**

> so I fell out of like all my major fandoms and back into swtor with reckless abandon after rogue one came out, and now I'm a subscriber with a sith warrior main and over 10k words of fics in progress and I felt it was probably time to start posting them somewhere? 
> 
> so here we are

“Wait, let me get this straight,” Vette says, incredulous. “ _You_ convinced the Voss you’re some prophetic hero, and now you’re going on a vision quest to prove yourself to them? And you want _me_ to come with you?”

“That about sums it up, yes,” Rkorya says, not bothering to hide her own amusement. Not much flusters Vette, most days, so it’s always something of a small pleasure to surprise her.

“You know, if they’re that gullible, they almost deserve to get tricked into joining with the Empire. No offence, my lord, but while you’ve saved a lot of lives, mine included, you... don’t exactly fit the chosen hero type.”

“Really.”

“Yeah, it’s something about the whole... crushing people’s throats and throwing yourself at them like a lightsaber-wielding missile that kind of ruins the image. Did they _see_ you fight?”

“If not, they should have certainly heard of my strength by now. I’ve been cutting my way through Gormak all day.”

Vette snorts. “Your _strength_ , right. What about... sheer brutality? Or maybe they’re just thinking ‘wow that is way more Gormak heads than I expected to see today’. Then again, with all the problems they cause... I guess that’d be a point in your favour.”

“The point is,” she says, cutting in more delicately than she might have with the rest of her crew. Vette’s wit and cheerful refusal to stop talking is one of the things that Rkorya first admired about her – silencing her tongue is something she tries to avoid. “It’s an easy enough interpretation to reach, and few of the Sith stationed here are as strong as I am in the Force. If this can sway the Voss towards the Empire, it’s my duty to pursue it.”

“Yeah, yeah, for the good of the Empire! I get it. I haven’t forgotten that you actually _care_ about winning this planet over. Anyways, that’s not the point. This vision thing... are you sure you don’t want, I don’t know, Jaesa along instead? Someone who actually _is_ as Sith-y as you?”

“I did think of my apprentice first,” she says wryly. “But while these trials channel something of the Force, I doubt they’re... easily applicable to Sith teachings.”

“You mean that they might not want you killing everything in sight, and then she’s going to pout about it.” Rkorya raises an eyebrow, and Vette raises hers in turn. “What? You’re not _denying_ it.”

Because, of course, it’s true to an extent.

“That Jaesa’s temperament isn’t suited to meditating or seeking visions is clear enough. More importantly, I don’t know the specifics of what the trials will involve. If we’re both involved in meditation, we’ll be exposed. An assassin at the right moment would do wonders for the Republic – or for Baras.” Vette’s eyes narrow at that, cheer vanishing in a heartbeat. The attack on Hoth’s orbital station is still fresh in the mind, a wound that’s all too easy to dwell on. She’d kept her crew distanced from her master and his orders, for the most part – for Draahg to lead the assault on them was every bit as personal as that first betrayal.

She welcomes every scrap of powerful, protective rage. To strike at her is inevitable, expected. To strike at those who’ve sworn themselves to her, who are hers to fight beside and shield, and to do it while she still _lived –_ that, Baras will pay for a dozen times over.

“Right, noted, Jaesa wouldn’t be the best choice. In that case... why not Pierce, or Quinn? Give them a few minutes and there’d be a military perimeter and everything. No one’d get close!” Vette’s voice is a little too loud, forcing the mood to brighten, but Rkorya can appreciate the effort. “Or even Broonmark – you like him, right? Just tell him to guard and you’d be fine!” She furrows her brow. “Well, you’d be fine, but the Voss...”

“I doubt the Voss would be happy to have a slaughter in one of their sacred places.” Dry irony is difficult to grasp when she wants to seethe, drown herself in her grudges, but that tends to cut short all conversations. Vette is used to her by now, but no one is ever truly comfortable around a furious Sith. “Quinn and Pierce are commendably loyal but... they wish to further the Empire’s agenda as much as I do. If these trials are real, if there’s anything of value in honing myself by going through them... I would prefer an unbiased anchor. The Voss deserve that much.”

“Wow,” she says after a beat of silence, softening. “One of those almost sounding like a good person moments. Kinda wasn’t expecting one, so soon after... well, anyways. I mean, I _am_ honoured. Did I say that yet? Definitely an honour to go along with your big prophecy quest. Even if it _is_ mostly a trick to get them to join up. I’m only agreeing to come along because you had to go and be sweet about it.”

“Your reasons are noted,” she says, so haughtily that the tone mocks itself – it’s enough to prompt a small grin, which _was_ the goal. “But really, Vette, it wasn’t much of a decision to begin with. I needed someone I could trust to watch my back. You were the first person I thought of.”

If she had been surprised before, now she’s well and truly flustered – while it’s hard to tell on less thin-skinned species than humans, Rkorya is fairly certain she’s _blushing_. A first time for everything, it seems.

“Well... it’s the least I can do, I guess,” she says at last, when she can finally meet her gaze again. “After... well, after everything you’ve done for me.” And then, deliberately building up to another jibe, “As long as you’re the one doing all the running around and sitting on a cold stone floor and whatever else these trials need.”

“The Voss, from what I’ve seen, seem to value silence, so I doubt you’d ever qualify to begin with. But I’m sure we can find you a wall to lean against while I do all the work.”

“Just one cantina, they don’t like to talk... I knew I’d find a few reasons not to like this planet.”


End file.
